by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

 
1. Sula Vineyarsds Sauvignon Blanc Nasik/India 2002: Pale/near white color; clean/bright herbal/ grassy/SB varietal nose; soft/light herbal/grassy/grapefruity/pure SB light flavor; med.short soft clean/herbal/SB/grassy finish; a simple/clean well-made SB much like a NewZealand version w/o the zinggy acidity. Good value at $8.39
2. Qupe Central Coast Syrah (13.5%) 2002: Dark color; some blackberry/Syrah bit perfumed talc rather fragrant bit coffee/smokey/pungent slight mushroomy attractive nose; soft bit buttery/oak quite spicy/lush/blackberry/Syrah some coffee/pungent/earthy flavor; med.long soft slight funky/mushroomy rather spicy/blackberry/Syrah finish w/ light tannins; will put on weight; maybe even better than the '01; verry nice Syrah. $9.00/hlf
3. EQuilibrio D.O.SanAntonio Valle del Rosaria Syrah MateticVnyd Chile (14.3%; 240 cs) 2001: Very dark color; very strong toasty/pungent/oak earthy/medicinal some herbal low fruit rather interesting/strange/weird nose; soft/underacid bit sour very pungent/ charred/burnt/toasty/oak rather herbal/pungent low fruit flavor; very long pungent/ toasty/charred/burnt rather rough/rustic/herbal/earthy finish w/ some tannins; loaded w/ charred/burnt oak but rather interesting in a bizarre sort of way. $21.00
4. Firefall Syrah Fair Play Baby Rattlesnake Vnyd (14.2%; www.FirefallVineyards.com) 2001: Very dark color; lovely very lush/ripe/spicy very blackberry/boysenberry/blueberry slight Syrah/gamey loads of fruit nose; tart very spicy/ripe lush/blackberry/boysen- berry light/buttery/oak slight gamey/meaty flavor; long/tart ripe/very spicy boysen- berry/blackberry finish w/ some tannins; can use a yr or two; loads of ripe Syrah fruit w/ nice touch of Syrah gaminess; a steal at this price. $13.00
5. Andrew Murray Santa Ynez Valley EG Syrah (13.9%) 2001: Very dark color; slight volatile/ perfumed rather pungent/toasty/oak very licorice strong blackberry/boysenberry nose; soft very licorice/pungent some toasty/Fr.oak strong boysenberry/Syrah flavor; long pungent/toasty/oak very pungent/licorice some gamey very blackberry/Syrah slightly hot/volatile finish w/ some tannins; needs few yrs; loads of Syrah fruit & nice touch of oak; good value at $17.00.
6. Rutherford Oaks Napa Valley/Rutherford Syrah Hozhoni Vnyd (14.5%; www.RutherfordOaks.net) Jeff Gaffner 1999: Very dark color; lovely/pungent bit roasted/coffee/gamey strong blackberry/Syrah somewhat complex nose; very strong pungent/smokey/gamey/meaty/coffee/ roasted strong blackberry/Syrah complex flavors, very long pungent/roasted/smokey/ meaty strong blackberry/Syrah finish w/ some tannins; very Rhonish style Syrah in the EdStJ style; killer wine for the price. $14.00
7. Acorn Axiom-Syrah Cuvee Alegria Vnyds Russian River Valley (13.5%; 10% Viognier/Cinsaut/ Heritage Vines Zin; www.AcornWinery.com) 2000: Dark color; rather bretty/horsecollar fruity/spicy/raspberry bit simple/Zin-like nose; soft rather bretty/horsecollar Zin/ raspberry/blackberry slight minty flavor; med. raspberry/spicy/blackberry rather unclean/brett finish w/ light tannins; bit too unclean and more like Zin than Syrah. $16.00
8. Longfellow Dry Creek Valley Syrah (14.6%; 359 cs; www.LongfellowWines.com) CraigWhitney/Mark Smith 2001: Dark color; rather smokey/pungent/toasty/Fr.oak slight volatile some spicy/ blackberry/Syrah bit gamey nose; soft smokey/toasty/oak quite blackberry/Syrah very DCV/spicy almost raspberry flavor; very long/very spicy blackberry/Syrah some gamey/ meaty finish w/ slight tannins; very nice Syrah w/ good DCV terroir. $24.00
9. Paradise Ridge Byck Family Estate Sonoma Cnty Syrah Hoenselaars Vnyd/UpperBlock (14.3%; 200 cs; www.PRWinery.com) 2001: Dark color; quite roasted/pungent/smokey/toasty/ espresso NorthernRhone/Graillot-like complex nose; soft very pungent/toasty/roasted/ espresso some blackberry/Syrah/gamey flavor; very long pungent/roasted/espresso/Northern Rhone-like strong blackberry/Syrah gamey finish w/ some tannins; needs few yrs; very NorthernRhone/Graillot-like Syrah; terrific Syrah at a very good price. $22.90
10. Tin Barn Vineyards Sonoma Coast Syrah Coryelle Fields Vnyd 914.0%; www.TinBarnVineyards.com) 2001: Dark color; lovely pungent/complex/smokey peppery/coffee rather blackberry/Syrah beautiful nose; tart very spicy roasted/peppery/cold-climate Syrah/NorthernRhone very spicy/blackberry/Syrah/gamey flavor; very long/lingering very pungent/roasted/peppery/NorthernRhone intense blackberry/peppery/Syrah finish w/ some tannins; needs few yrs; stunning Syrah at a great price. $25.70
11. Lauterbach Cellars Syrah Russian River Valley (14.8%; www.LauterbachCellars.com) 2000: Dark color; slight herbal very boysenberry/blackberry bit milky/oak bit toasty/smokey/ gunpowder/oaked complex nose; tart bit dusty/herbal strong pungent/smokey/charred oak strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry flavor; very long charred/toasty/pungent/oak dusty/ blackberry/Syrah finish w/ some tannins; needs a yr or two; very attractive Syrah. $26.00
12. Eric Texier Cotes du Rhone Brezeme (NonFiltre; 12.5%) 2000: Very dark color; classic pungent/roasted/charred/oak/wood workshop some high-toned/raspberry/Syrah complex smokey nose; very high acid green/green olive very roasted/smokey/smokey/pungent rather raspberry/Syrah bit earthy/dusty flavor; very long high acid green olive/green very charred/toasty/oak finish w/ some tannins; needs age badly; a screeching acidity that bodes well for aging; most disliked this wine but I thought it terrific w/ great potential. $20.70
13. Chateau du Fonsalette Cotes do Rhone Syrah (MeBalP; 14%; Reserve) 2000: Dark color; slight corked rather rosemary/cloves/floral/perfumed some toasty/oak slight bretty rather Syrah/blackberry bit SouthernRhone/earthy nose; soft spicy/floral slight bretty spicy/blackberry/Syrah bit earthy/floral flavor; long bit tannic floral/blackberry/ Syrah some bretty bit smokey/oak finish; needs some age. $40.60
14. Yann Chave Hermitage (13.5%) 2001: Very dark color; very intense blackberry/Syrah some roasted/coffee/espresso/licorice classic/NorthernRhone beautiful pungent nose; tart rich strong blackberry/Syrah toasty/roasted/espresso/oaked bit gamey/green olive complex flavor; very long/lingering roasted/espresso/toasty/oak blackberry/Syrah dusty/green olive finish w/ fair tannins; needs 4-10 yrs age; beautiful/classic NorthernRhone at a fair price. $36.50
15. Bernard Chave Hermitage (12.5%) 1994: Dark color; strong piney/juniper/cedary/oaked very dusty/old vines some meaty/gamey light roasted/coffee/CocaCola/complex nose; tart bit lean/astringent cedary/juniper/oaked light roasted/NorthernRhone meaty/gamey complex flavor; long bit astringent light roasted/gamey bit piney/cedary/oak finish; a mature/complex Rhone at or slightly beyond its peak; lovely mature NorthernRhone. Howard&Rhoda's mystery.
16. Edmunds StJohn Calif Syrah (14.2%) 1995: Med.color; slight funky/bretty rather roasted/ espresso/C-R/smokey/pungent pencilly complex nose; soft/lush rather smokey/pungent/ roasted/toasty spicy light blackberry flavor; very long roasted/smokey/pungent rather NorthernRhone/aged C-r finish w/ light tannins; a beautiful drinking very C-R-like Syrah. Blair's mystery wine. $16.00

And Some Dessert Wines To Celebrate:

1. Jepson Viognier Mistel Mendocino (18.0%) NV: Med.dark gold color w/ some cloudiness; incredibly volatile/EA/acetic some grapey no Viognier nose; very sweet grapey/tortilla soup hot/burning/volatile flavor; a raging volatile that makes this wine undrinkable. $14.50/hlf
   1. Trentadue Russian River Vlly ViognierPort (18.5%; www.trentadue.com) NV: Near colorless; very strong/alcoholic some pear/Viognier/pear eau-di-vie pretty alcoholic nose; tart off-dry pear eau-di-vie/grapey rather alcoholic/hot flavor; very much in the style of a WhitePort but a bit on the raw side like a pear eau-di-vie; interesting appertif. $18.00/hlf
   2. Chateau Suduiraut Sauternes (14%) 1999: Med.gold color; slight volatile some botrytis/ peachy fragrant slight toasty/coconutty/butterscotch nose; sweet/tart some toasted coconut/butterscotchy light peachy/botrytis flavor; very long light butterscotchy/ toasted coconut light peachy/botrytis sweet finish; very simple & primary now but should age many a year. Steve's wine. $49.00
   3. Bernard Forquet Domaine des Aubuisierres Vouvray Moelleux VieillesVignes (11%; Selection Grain NObles; Cuvee Alexandre) 1990: Dark gold color; huge/intense/very lush botrytis/peachy/apricotty complex loads of botrytis nose; very sweet/complex minerally/ earthy intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty very lush/complex flavor; extremely long/ concentrated intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty some minerally tart finish; an incredible botrytis wine that live forever. Howard & Rhoda's wine.

1. RutherfordOaks Syrah: This wine retails at the wnry for $30/btl. Probably a fair price for that wine. At $14/btl, it's an absolute steal.
2. TinBarnVnyds: A stunning Syrah and easily worth the wineries $32/btl price. This is a brand new vnyd on the Sonoma Coast and the wine shows plenty of cold-climate Syrah character. Their WebSite is very difficult to read because of the dark colors on some of the backgrounds. The Site also labels the Coryelle as the first SynomaCoast Syrah vnyd. The first would be Al Rago's Que Syrah vnyd. But this is certainly a vnyd to keep your eyes upon. Impressive first release.
3. Vineyards: Some pretty impressive wines here from vnyds I've never heard of: HozhoniVnyd, CoryelleFieldsVnyd, HoenselaarsVnyd. It's getting so confusing. The Coryelle is the one I'd like to no more about; amazing cold-climate vnyd.
4. Texier Brezeme: I love this guy's wines. They usually have a very high acidity to them that bodes well for their long aging. Because of the screechy acidity on this wine, it was not very well liked. I think it'll be killer down the road.
5. Jepson Mistel: Do not, NOT, have this wine around an open flame or...poof... on the order of 1-2 kilotons (and I know whereof I speak). I have NEVER smelled such a volatile/ EA-loaded wine in my life. Well above the legal limit. It struck me as a wine that went south and they then fortified in an atempt to salvage it. Use it for scouring your sink, but don't put it in your mouth nor near your nose. Vile stuff.

TomHill

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